Regressor's Revenge: Becoming the Villain in My Second Life

Axel looked to his right and gazed at Leora, whose stare seemed to pierce his soul.

Leora hadn’t said much today — or at all, really. But she was always observing, her gaze intent. One of the things that always seemed to fall within her line of sight was Axel. At first, he thought she viewed them all as potential enemies. But recently, he’d come to reinterpret her gaze...

Axel wasn’t dumb; he knew she’d been keeping an eye on him. He could guess a few reasons.

Maybe she thought he was suspicious. Perhaps she thought he was interesting.

Maybe she thought he was attractive — he was tall, had sharp features, and possessed thick, wavy blond hair, after all...

But he could never really tell, not when the look in her eyes never changed.

’The look of a huntress stalking her prey.’

Axel took in Leora’s figure. She was curvy in all the right places, with fairly large breasts. She had long, golden hair and golden-brown eyes to match.

She was a beauty that came once every hundred years — the kind who didn’t have to try to be gorgeous.

She looked like the type who had never heard the word ”no.”

Ending their weird, silent staring contest, Leora looked up at the sky and spoke in an unexpectedly solemn tone:

”Hey, Axel. Why do you think we were brought here?”

Turning toward her, Axel stared into her amber eyes for a long moment.

”I— uh... I don’t know. To save the Earth.”

Leora reached a hand toward the sky, then clenched her fist as if she could grasp it. She spoke quietly, still not looking at Axel.

”Do you truly believe that, though? How is what we’re doing helping? I think we’re here for some twisted being’s entertainment.”

”I—”

Axel searched through his fragmented memories, but he couldn’t give her a confident answer. He had to rely on his judgment and his own rationalizations. Yet, no matter how much he thought about it, the idea that this could all be some cruel joke didn’t seem too far-fetched.

”I don’t know. But I hope that’s the case.”

Leora chuckled.

”Is that so? I thought you’d say that.”

”Really? I thought you were about to call me insane.”

Without deeper consideration, Axel’s words did seem insane. But once he thought about it, the reason became obvious. If this were just some cruel joke, that would mean Earth and everyone he knew back there were safe.

But... if this threat were real and they were being put through some celestial super-soldier program, then he couldn’t help but despair at the thought of returning to find everyone he knew dead.

Quietly, Leora echoed his words:

”I hope that too...”

Leora’s words seemed to hang in the air. She brought her hand back down and covered her face.

When Axel looked over, he noticed silent tears running down her cheeks.

”I— I...”

Her voice was soft, breaking after each syllable.

”I just want to go home. I’m scared. I’m so scared. I don’t want to be here. I don’t want anyone to die. I need my parents and my brother. I... I need to know they’re safe.”

Axel was about to open his mouth to comfort her, but he couldn’t find the words.

He couldn’t entirely relate to Leora. He didn’t know exactly what she was feeling.

Axel had only ever loved one person — a familial love. There was a man who visited the orphanage where he grew up every day. When that man died, a part of Axel died with him.

Leora’s breath hitched as she continued:

”I— I can’t do this... I can’t! It’s all too scary. Too horrible... I don’t want to kill... I don’t want to be killed!”

Axel never tried to love someone again. He pushed people away and never let anyone in. He wasn’t antisocial by any means, but there were only a few people he called his friends.

It was because of his curse.

Leora’s voice cracked as she cried:

”And I don’t want to watch anyone else be killed!”

He was afraid of losing someone.

With his damn curse, he was forever fated to stare at their face in his memories, yet never feel their warmth again.

”I haven’t known any of you long, but I still can’t bear it... I can’t bear any of you leaving me.”

Axel tried to find the right words, but failed again and again.

All he could do was scoot a little closer, wrap an arm around her shoulder, and pull her in. It was enough for Leora. She didn’t scoot away or scorn his touch.

But eventually...

”I won’t die...”

Leora lifted her face out of her hands.

”Huh...?”

”It’s a bit optimistic to say nobody else will die and we’ll all make it out together. Or to claim I’ll protect everyone... But I can promise you... I won’t die.”

A quiet chuckle broke through her sobs.

”I’m glad there’s someone like you here...”

But the respite from her tears was merely momentary.

She continued crying on Axel’s shoulder until midnight came, forcing her to stifle the sound.

It left a stunned Axel with a new mystery:

’Why did she decide to confide in me...?’

Sighing, he looked up into the pitch-black sky.

’And why do I feel so drawn to her?’

Beyond her beauty, something deeper captivated him. Something he could only describe as her ’soul.’

Axel had somewhat grown accustomed to the wailing of the trees and the shaking of the ground. But when he looked up at the sky, he saw something... off. There was not only a gigantic figure rising and falling in the distance, each movement producing the thunderous crashes.

’The stars...’

The stars had moved.

’No use fretting over it.’

Axel was still hesitant to sleep because of the potential danger the night might present. But with how exhausted he was, not even the thunderous noises or his curiosity could keep him awake.

He eventually fell asleep shoulder to shoulder with Leora, his head resting against hers.